Not like you expected
by Alina89
Summary: What if Trina hadn't shown up to take Logan home? What if Veronica had to take care of him? Au at the end of 1x15. LoVe eventually
1. Chapter 1

**Not like you expected**

"Come on Logan, just give me your keys. Leo, can you follow us in your car? "

"No. No! No. No. 'Cause tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999. Hey, who's this dude?"

"As I have told you now three times, this is the friendly officer of the law who is going to overlook your underage public drunkenness. "

"Crockett or Tubbs? "

"Logan! Come on, give me your keys or I'll get them myself!"

"Try."

_Great! First Meg and Duncan and now I have to take care of a very drunk Logan. Can this day get any worse?_

Leo eyed them suspiciously. After some seconds of struggling she finally managed to get hold of his keys.

"Come on, let's go!"

With a little help from Leo she managed to get Logan out of the school and to his car. She put him in the passenger seat and then turned to talk to Leo.

"I'm going to take him to my appartement."

"But-"

"No way I'm going to take him home in his condition. And I don't think this is the best way for him to see all of his mother's things again. No, I'm going to take him with me. Dad's out of town for the next few days and I think this is the best way. See you at my apartment?"

"I dont't have any options here, do I?"

"I don't think so."

With these words she turned to the X-Terra and got in. Logan was asleep. His head resting on the window. Veronica thought about fastening his seatbelt but decided not to. _Logan waking up, because I'm leaning over him so he gets a nice look at me isn't a great idea. Meg is so going to pay for this costume._

So she just started the car and drove home. Checking him every ten seconds or so to see if he was still breathing, Veronica thought about the day so far. First getting dragged to this stupid dance by Meg. Then finding out her Casanova had been Duncan. Seeing them together and crying over him just to get found by Leo. And last but not least drunken Logan. _Yeah, the day really turned out great! Logan should wear some pants. He must be getting cold. What the hell are you thinking Veronica Mars? This is California. You don't get a cold just because you don't wear any pants. Logan looks rather good without them. Okay stop now. Logans bare legs are not affecting you. He's just the boy you used to hang out with until you got all enemy-ish. Nothing more. You don't even like him and neither does he like you. So why getting all girly?_

At this moment she realized she was already at her apartment.

"Come on Logan. Wake up!"

But Logan stayed asleep. Not until she hit him did he wake up.

"Wha-? Ronnie? Where are we?"

"At my apartment. Could you perhaps consider helping me by getting out of your car alone?"

"Sure."

As Veronica got out of the X-Terra Leo arrived with her own car. Just a few seconds after him some other car pulled up and some random guy got out.

"Hey Veronica!", Leo yelled at her. "This is my friend Todd, he's going to take me back to school to get my own car. Do you mind if I leave you now alone with him?"

"No, not at all. But thanks for being here today and helping out with Logan. It's just not his day. "

With this, she walked over to him and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. It was Logans turn now to eye them suspiciously.

"You're welcome. Call me sometime?"

"I will."

Leo got in the car of his friend and they both drove away.

"Young Love!"

"Oh shut up, Logan! Leo is a nice guy."

"If you say so."

"Other then some other guys."

"Whatever."

"Come on, let's get inside. I don't want to camp outside."

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"Why do you think, I'm not a nice guy?"

Well this question was a suprise. After they got in Logan let himself fall on the couch as Veronica got him some water. She sat down next to him and they stayed in complete silence until he asked this question a few seconds ago.

"Mmh. Let me think about that. Perhaps because you insulted me throughout the last year. Perhaps because you stopped being friends with me after what happened to Lilly. Shall I go on?"

"Okay, I get it. You hate me."

_Wow,Logan getting all sentimental. That's something new._

"You're the perfect person to say that."

"Do you want to say that I hate you?'"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"But I don't hate you. I like you, you know that?"

"Okay Logan, you officially had a few drinks to much. Why don't you get some sleep. I'll bring you some blankets –"

"I'm not that drunk Veronica. Let's talk."

"This is not quite the right time to talk. Let's wait 'till tomorrow 'till you're sober again and then we'll see if you still want to talk, okay?"

"No, I want to talk right now. Do you hate me?"

_Well let's see. Over a year, you tried to humiliate me. You and all your buddys turned your back on me. You made my life hell. But you're not in the state to hear this right now. And I actually don't know if I really do hate you._

"Veronica? Earth to Mars! You're still with me?"

"What? Yeah – Well, I don't actually hate you, but I can't say that I like you that much either."

"Oh. Yeah, you're right. I just thought after what happened –"

"What do you mean Logan? That we're going to be friends again, because you just realized how alone you really are and that I'm the only person who has been there for you after what happened to your mom? Did you really think I could just forget the whole last year? Forgive and forget? You're more stupid than I thought!"

"Okay Veronica, I get it! You don't like me, I can completely understand you. I just wanted you to know that I don't hate you. I think I never really did. I just needed someone to blame for Lilly's death and you were the best person for this job –"

"I know Logan."

"You do? How?"

_Should I tell him? It's not that I could make this anymore worse._

"I bugged the student counsilor's office and I heard you talking to her."

"You did what?"

"Listen. I wanted to figure out some things."

"What things and why would you do that?"_ It seems that Logan is finally sobering up again_

"Well, I'm investigating Lilly's murder to find out who killed her."

"You do what?"

_Yeah defintely sober now_. "Did you think I could live on knowing that her real murder was still out there? Abel Koontz didn't kill her. Im just trying to find out who did it."

"Are you sure?"

"Definetly."

"Then let me help you."

"What?"

"I said let me help you."

"I understood that I just don't get why youd want to do it."

"You don't get it? Hell, she was my _girlfriend_. Do you really think this doesn't bother me?"

"No Logan, that's not what I meant. It's just the fact that you want to help _me_. Do you really think we could stay five minutes without arguing or insulting the other?"

"What about the past five minutes."

"You don't think this was arguing? "

"You should know me better."

"Okay, so how do you think this is going to work?"

"How about you tell me what you know and if you're going somewhere to find out something new I'm coming with you."

"Let me think about it, okay? We talk about this tomorrow."

"Then I think it's time I should leave."

"What? NO! You're not going to leave in the middle of the night having that amount of alcohol."

"You don't know how much I had and I don't think your father would be too pleased to see me next morning like this."

"He's not here for the rest of the weekend. Don't worry."

"Are you trying to get me to sleep with you? Veronica Mars. I didn't know you were that kind of person."

"Don't you know I did almost every sportsmen at highschool? But no, that's not what I intended."

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"You know, for being a jerk and all. I know it was stupid and I hurt you. I really want to be friends with you again. I know we can't just make a new start but please Ronnie, think about it. You were right. I don't have any friends left."

"Logan."

"No, don't say anything right now. Just promise me you think about it. Please."

"Okay...I'm going to get you some blankets and then you can sleep on the couch."

"Thanks Ronnie."

"Good night Logan."

"Night Ronnie."

As Veronica got into her bed tonight, she thought once more about the day. _Maybe the day really wasn't that bad after all._


	2. Chapter 2

After I got some of these great reviews, I just had to write more to this one..

I'm not a native speaker so I'm truly sorry for any mistakes. I don't have a beta so feel free to correct me. Feedback is much appreciated...

Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars. Rob does. He's the man.

* * *

Something was wrong when Veronica woke up. She just was too sleepy right now to figure out what. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. No, she was still in her room, she recognized her ceiling but what the hell was it? It was then that she was finally awake enough to notice the third arm that lay on her tummy and wrapped her near somebody else. And this somebody was breathing in her neck right now. 

_Calm down, Veronica. Calm down. Take a deep breath and turn around._

In her bed, just mere inches away lay none other than Logan Echolls, her former friend, than arch enemy and now somewhat friend again and sidekick in Lillys case. _How the hell did that happen? And why does he have to be so damn near me? And the most disturbing thing: why was she enjoying it and felt rather comfortable_ She hadn't any answers for the last question but she knew why he was there. Sometime during the night she had woken up by the sound of her door opening. Logan had been standing in the door looking like he didn't know what he was doing. Although it had been very dark, Veronica had been able to see the wet trails on his cheek and his puffy red eyes. He had been crying again. Without a word she had motioned for him to come into her bed as she put her blanket aside so that he could hop into her bed. He probably hadn't wanted to be alone.

As to why they were so close together they must have kind of snuggled closer during the night. _There could be worse things than sleeping in a bed with Logan Echolls. I just hope that dad won't come home too early_.

Veronica tried to get up but was stopped by Logans arm around her. He mumbled something into her hair and started tracing circles with his hand on her tummy.

_That's enough!_ Veronica tried to suppress the strange feeling she got when he touched her and jumped out of her bed.

"What the hell do you think your doing Echolls?"

Logan opened his eyes slowly and looked at her. He cringed at the sound of her voice and put his head into his hands.

"Could you please accuse me a little quieter? Not everybody is a morning person like you are. What have I done now?" His voice was very quiet and sounded resigned.

"Oh nothing. But just to make this clear. If it should ever happen again that you and me sleep in one bed make sure that your hands stay with you. I don't like to wake up with your hands all over me."

"I had a dream for heavens sake! Stay cool Mars. It's not that I want something from you or something."

" Hadn't thought you would. But then I never had thought of Logan Echolls to be a sleep groper. I'm going to shower now."

"Well, Veronica Mars. Is this a suggestion?" Logan gave her his famous smirk but she just turned and walked into her bathroom. How come that he could always get under her skin so easily?

When she returned to her bedroom Logan was nowhere to be seen. She could hear some noises coming from the kitchen and decided to put on some clothes as long as Logan was still occupied. She wouldn't want him to see her getting dressed now, would she? After she was finally ready she stopped dead in tracks. There was a smell that reminded her of something she couldn't place right now. i What the hell? Is Logan making breakfast/i

Yes, he was. As Veronica entered the kitchen, Logan was standing at the stove doing Pancakes. Yes, Logan Echolls was standing in her kitchen making Pancakes. As if this day couldn't get anymore weird. She then remembered of what the smell had reminded her. Her mother had always made her pancakes before school until she had started with the drinking.

Veronica sat down at the counter, watching Logan who hadn't obviously noticed her yet. They both nearly jumped as they heard Veronicas cell ringing. As Veronica picked it up she and Logan shared a quick glance which made shivers run down her spine.

"Yeah?" Nobody answered so she hung of again.

"Was it this deputy?"

"No someone keeps crank calling me."

"Star 69 them."

"I do but it just rings and rings."

"Here, let me try it."

"Yeah sure, you can do this so much better than me", she said sarcastically.

Without paying attention to Veronicas bad mood, Logan walked toward her and snapped the cell out of her hand. Before Veronica could protest he had already dialed.

"I hear you're bothering my girl" _His girl? Since when?_

Veronica grabbed the phone out of his hand and held it at her ear.

"Who is this? Why do you keep calling me? "

"This is a pay phone. You must be talking about that blonde lady."

"Blonde lady? A-a pay phone where?"

"Sage Brush Cantina, Barstow."

Veronica hung off. She had finally found her.

"Who was this? Veronica? What's the matter?"

"Sorry Logan but I have to go. Could you get out yourself? Thanks!"

Veronica was already heading for the door when she felt a hand grab around her wrist and stopped her.

"No. Tell me what happened. Does this has something to do with the case?"

"No. And I don't think that this is any of your business."

"Please Veronica. Tell me", Logan said in a pleading voice. He formed his mouth into a pout and looked at her with his puppy eyes. He knew from the time when they had still been friends that she just couldn't resist him when he did that.

"Fine. I think I found my mother."

"Where is she?"

"This guy said that he was in Barstow. That's where I'm going now."

"I'm coming with you."

"No!"

"Do I have to do the stare again?"

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just go. But I'm driving."

Veronica couldn't form one proper thought. She was standing outside of a bar, Logan at her side and was about to finally find her mother. Some 24 hours she had have until now. Logan hadn't said a word throughout the whole ride but she was sure that he was itching to ask her some things. But she was glad that he didn't. Veronica went into the bar and searched the room for her mother. Logan came in right after her but stayed away when he saw Veronica going to some woman at the bar.

"Mom!"

The woman at the bar turned around and indeed, it was Lianne Mars. It took her some time to focus and realize that her daughter was standing in front of her.

"Veronica. Oh, my god, no. No, please. "

Her mother got distressed at the sight of her but Veronica tried to take her hands to lead her out. Lianne didn't want to come with her and knocked over some glasses.

"I'm gonna get you out of here. "

"No! No. I can't be seen with you. They are gonna hurt you."

"Mom, I know who's doing it. I know who's blackmailing us. You're safe now."

Veronica couldn't hold her anymore and Lianne backed away.

Logan was still standing in the door, not knowing what to do. He had seen his mother like that so many times but this was Veronicas mom. Not his. Why the hell had he even wanted to come with her? He had no right to be here. To interrupt them or disturb them. As he turned around to leave through the door he bumped into another person. Clarence Wiedman. What was the Kanes security chief doing here?

Wiedman didn't even notice him but gave a quick glance at Veronica and her mother and exited again. Logan looked at Veronica for some answers but all he could see was a look of horror, surprise and fear. Something weird was going on and Logan wanted to know what. He locked his eyes for a quick moment with Veronica and exited the bar to search for Wiedman. Unfortunately did he only see him driving away in his car so all he could do was get into the bar again and hope for some answers.

Getting into the bar again he could see Veronica still struggling with her mom.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Honey, just please go. Please go, baby."

He could see her finally gaining control and directing her to a near table. As Logan got to the bar to get some coffee for her he could hear their talk still going on.

"I have been searching for you for a year. I'm not going anywhere."

As he waits for the coffee to be prepared he looks back at the two to see them hugging. He really shouldn't be here right now.

"Oh, god, I've missed you so much. But this is bad. This is very bad, you shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you", Veronica said in a teary voice.

"I'm trying, though, I'm trying to protect you and I can't. I can't. It's just so hard."

With the coffee in his hands, Logan made his way to them. He placed it in front of Lianne and nodded at Veronica.

"I better leave you two alone. I'm waiting in the car."

"Thanks Logan", Veronica said with a little smile on her face.

Exiting the bar again he can her Veronica saying :"It's okay. Mom, Mom, everything is gonna be okay. "

After some time waiting, Logan could hear mother and daughter coming to the car. They both got in and Veronica started driving.

"Where are we going?", Logan asked with a soft voice.

"Rehab", was all Veronica said.

Veronica couldn't believe it. How could he have let him do that. She was in his debt now and that was not something she had planned to be. Logan had payed for the rehab stay of her mother. He had insisted to do so. Said that it would be her payment. How could she have said no to that?

She had dropped him at his house when they were back in Neptune and went straight home. But not before promising him that she would explain all of this later. Now she had to find that bug Clarence Wiedman had obviously planted in her room.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars. Rob does. He's the man.

* * *

A/N: Okay I don't know how I did it but I wrote over 3000 words and for the ones who don't know me that is pretty much the most I wrote for one part ever. Besides, I know that there are many dialoges from the original post and the time-line is a little different but I said it was AU earlier and I can do with my fic whatever I want. I'm also sorry if not everything from the episode is mentioned, but that would have been too much like a rewrite. And just to let you know, this episode isn't even done yet so I think this is going to become a really long fic..Hm, we'll see..

A/N2: I'm not a native speaker so I'm truly sorry for any mistakes. I don't have a beta so feel free to correct me. Feedback is much appreciated...

Oh yeah, I don't know if I'll be able to write much more soon but comments will surely help. But now, onto the next part...

* * *

All day long, Logan had tried call her but Veronica had dodged each and every single one of them. She hadn't been capable of facing him yet.

Going into the school she knew that it would be inevitable. Better start with it now. She was about to wait for him at his locker when she heard the voice of vice principal Clemmons behind her.

"Veronica. My office. Now."

As it turned out, somebody had stolen the school mascot Polly and Clemmons wanted Veronica to find it. Of course, she had accepted but only after she had convinced him to give her a personal letter of recommendation, a different locker and two excused absences. The day seemed to start pretty well. Hopefully it stayed like that even if she had to have a talk with Logan.

Walking out of the office Veronica bumped into someone. Looking up to see who she had run into, a smile was forming in her face.

"Hey!"

"What's up V?", Wallace asked.

"Oh you know, the usual stuff", Veronica started but stopped when she saw that Wallace wasn't paying attention. People were passing by and patting him on the back or the shoulder saying things like 'Go Wallace' or 'Wallace my man'. Finally he turned his attention back to her.

"They like you! They really like you!", she stated in a fan girl voice.

He just gave her a look and started walking and Veronica followed him. A boy walked towards them and announced that somebody had stolen the school mascot.

_Why is everybody so anxious. It's just some parrot. Maybe I should start investigating right now. I had planned on going to their school tomorrow pretending to be a new student but I better find out sooner than later_.

Veronica was about to tell Wallace that she had to leave when the two of them walked right into Meg and Duncan. Her eyes wandered down to their intertwined hands and Duncan immediately let go of Megs hand.

Looking at Wallace he said:"Eighteen points, eight assists."

"On the streets, we call those dimes."

Veronica couldn't suppress the smile.

"Streets! You live on the corner of Pleasant Valley and Marigold."

They both share a look but are interrupted by Meg.

"Hey, did you cut your hair?"

"No, I'm growing it out." Veronicas smile immediately fell.

"Wel- anyway, it looks great."

"Thanks."

"We gonna beat Pan, man?", Duncan asked trying to lighten the mood.  
"Bet on it."

Finally he and Meg moved on.

"Can I just do something?"

Without waiting for an answer Veronica patted him on the shoulder which made him laugh hard.

"Why does everyone keep doing that to you? Seriously, it's like you're made of velour or something", she said in a serious voice.

But again they were interrupted. A fellow team member of Wallace asked him to come and after some more slight banter he and Wallace left her.

_I had wanted to leave anyway._

Walking into the parking lot, Veronica was stopped by the sight of a big yellow car.

"Skipping school already?", the boy asked as he got out of his car.

"You're not that much better yourself Logan. You. Are. Late."

"But that's a good thing though, otherwise I hadn't been delighted by the sight of Veronica Mars sneaking out of school", he said with his famous smirk on his face.

"Well, it was nice meeting you here but I have to go now. Bye." _I don't have time for this now. I'm already in a hurry if I want to make it to Pan High by lunch_.

"Hey. Wait! You're not offended by this are you?" _Since when did Logan care if he said something wrong to me?_

If Veronica didn't know better, she had thought that she could hear concern in his voice. But that had to be her imagination.

"Is this about your mom?"

Shit. She had already forgotten that Logan had been there too when she had found her drunken mother in a bar. She still owed him an explanation. All this Polly-stuff had distracted her.

"No, Logan. It isn't. I'm fine. Listen, I don't know why I should tell you this but somebody has stolen Polly and Clemmons wants me to find our beloved school mascot. He suspects Pan High and this is were I'm heading right now."

"You just want to walk right into the school and ask for it?"

" Yeah and then I wanted to buy myself a bike and ride over to Disney Land and have a really great day. No, duh! I wanted to go home first, change into some other clothes and then pretend to be the new student there."

"And you don't think that anybody is going to ask about that?", he asked incredulously.

"You don't believe how credulously people sometimes can be."

"Well if that's the case. I'm coming with you. This is going to be fun!"

"No you don't. _You_ are going into this school right now and _I _ am leaving."

"Come on, Ronnie! I don't have actor parents for nothing. Pretending to be someone else is in my blood. Maybe you'll need help. Don't look at me like that. Even Veronica Mars does need help from time to time. I'll even let you drive."

"We couldn't have pulled up there in your car anyway."

"Is that a yes?" Logan was behaving like a little school girl. He was nearly jumping up and down.

_Maybe he has a point. How bad could it get?_

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Obviously really bad. They had gone to her apartment together and while Veronica had changed, Logan had waited for her. He had insisted on staying in his clothes, although Veronica had said to him that people could recognize him if he wouldn't change. At least he agreed to wear a fake pair of eyeglasses.

During the drive to the school, Veronica had instructed him on how to behave. They would pretend to be step-brother and -sister, their parent having married again after their first divorce. But the person Logan was, he had changed this little fact in her plan.

They had been standing in the middle of the cafeteria, pretending to be looking for a place to sit, while hoping that somebody at the popular table would notice them (Veronica specially put on some girly clothes at the sight of which Logan had laughed at when he first saw her exiting her room), when some cute guy at that table had mentioned for them to come and sit with them. Veronica had thought it would be a good idea if she would flirt with him (the fact that he was good looking and seemed like a nice person was also the reason for her behavior). But obviously not so good. She had introduced herself as Betty and was about to tell them about Logan when he interrupted her.

"Jason. Her boyfriend." To strengthen this fact, he had put an arm around Veronica and snuggled her closer to him. It really had been a bad idea to let him get into this too.

She now had to pretend that Logan Echolls was her boyfriend. This was really bad.

The cute guy was taken aback for some seconds but finally got a hold of himself again and extended his hand for _Jason_ .

"It's nice meeting you. I'm Richie. And this is Curtis and that's Zeke."

The boys Richie pointed to waved at the two of them. All of the boys at the table except for Zeke were wearing jock jackets.

"So you guys all play basketball?", Veronica asked in a voice she hoped was as naive as she wanted it to be.

"Curtis and I do," Richie answered.

"I'm team manager. Which is like being on the team,"this Zeke guy said, but was interrupted by Richie. "Which is like being near the team."

"I love basketball", Veronica said in an excited voice. "Isn't that right honey?", she asked Logan looking him directly in the eyes.

"Uh yeah," he said vaguely like searching for an idea. Veronica was already about to say something again when she saw a sparkle in his eyes and a smirk forming in his face again.

"She's kind of a freak when it comes to sports. Betty totally get into it.

Richie seemed to be very interested in this topic. "Are we talking face paint? "

"Face painting, hair streaking the colour of the school," Logan answered, the smirk still too big on his face. _Uh, this can't be good_.

"At our old school, she was Horny!"

Richie, who had been drinking at Logans last comment nearly choked on his drink. Veronica however had to keep her appearance although she wanted to slap Logan in the face the instant he said that.

"What are you talking about honey?", she asked him in a what appeared to be sweet voice but was filled with rage.

"Come on sugarpuss. It's not that bad. Everybody has a dark spot in their past." Then he turned to face Richie again and said:" We were the Rhinos. She was the mascot."

Logan was definitely enjoying this too much. Veronica had to have a word with him soon.

"Alright. I admit it, but if you'll excuse us now boys", she said while standing up and taking Logans hand, "We still haven't been at our lockers and I want to put my books away."

She tried to leave but Logan held her back. He pulled at her hand and Veronica lost her balance. She fell right into his lap.

"Let's stay for some more time. I'm still hungry. We can go to the lockers after lunch."

"Fine,"Veronica gave in. She tried to get out of his lap again but he didn't let her. How come that she was relenting so easy whenever Logan made her do something she didn't want to? She was so going to kill him when all this was over. But then Logan started to nuzzle his head into her hair and put his head on her shoulder while listening to Richie talking. That wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't suddenly started to put feather light kisses on her collarbone. All thoughts of killing suddenly were out of her mind and all she could do was enjoy the feelings he indicated. She had to suppress the urge to moan but managed to turn her head to face him.

"What do you think you are doing?", she breathed out.

"Cuddling with my girlfriend. What do you think?", he whispered into her ear while nibbling at it. Veronica tried to respond but was stopped by Logans lips crushing down on her. His lips were soft and kind and everything Veronica hand't expected them to be. She couldn't resist him anymore and eventually parted her lips to let him gain access.

The two of them were so wrapped up into each other that they didn't notice the commotion first, that was starting to come up in the middle of the cafeteria. Everybody was clapping at some nerd looking guy when a delivery guy walked into the cafeteria and put a big gift box in the middle of it.

The two of them finally got up two to see what all the tumult was about. Veronica desperately tried not to look at Logan while she made her way to the middle of the cafeteria where the reason for all of this seemed to be.

She didn't know what the hell had gotten into her. While Logan had been _kissing_ her. She hadn't been able to form one proper thought otherwise she had stopped him right after he had started. At least she thought that she would have done it. But now all the thoughts she should have been having in that moment were flooding her mind.

_What the hell was that all about? Was this all just an act? Was it a joke for Logan trying to get at me? Or was this something else? It surely felt like more than just a joke. I can't believe what just happened. Oh my god, I kissed Logan fucking Echolls!_

But before Veronica could think anymore on that subject she reached the middle of the group, Logan being right behind her. She could nearly feel his breath on her neck but she wasn't sure if it wasn't just the memory of it from seconds ago. But she could feel his presence right behind her.

She could see Richie lifting off the lid and the sides falling away to reveal a large quantity of what appeared to be wrapped meat, the wrapping being stamped "100 GOAT MEAT". On top was a tray of meat patties and a goat's bell.

"They butchered Billy", somebody besides her said. As she looked at the person she saw that it was Richie who had taken the initiative to talk. "Neptune is so going to pay for this. But at least we have their damn parrot, right Wilson?"

He pointed at the nerd looking guy the students had been clapping at before. The guy turned to a deep red.

"Yeah, sure", he stammered. _It seems I need to talk to this guy if I want to get Polly back_.

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The rest of the school day went in kind of a blur.

Logan totally enjoyed acting like Veronicas boyfriend. They didn't talked about what they had done at the cafeteria like they both had silently agreed to not touch this subject. But it hadn't stopped Logan from holding her hand most of the times. He actually tried to touch her as often as he could and in any possible way.Veronicas didn't know what she should make out of this, but she couldn't ask him or say anything until the two of them were alone and Logan made sure that they weren't.

She also wasn't been able to get a hold of this Wilson because he was surrounded by students all the time. She finally saw him alone when school was out and everybody was heading for their cars. She had been walking to her car with Logan, holding hands, of course because they had to hold up their appearances after all. She gave Logan a quick peck on the cheek, also because of their appearance Veronica told herself and excused herself for a minute. Logan went on going to her car while she got over to Wilson.

"Wilson!"

"Hello?"

"I hear you're the guy to see about seeing a parrot."

"Man. Word really gets around, doesn't it? You're the new girl, right? "

"Word does get around."

"You wa-you want to see the parrot, huh?"

"I do. I just think that's so cool that anyone would do that. I mean that takes a real man, you know?"

"Yeah."

Wilson pulled out his cell and showed her a picture of a parrot on it.

"How'd you get your hands on it?"

"I just walked into the school, like I was a student there and nobody even asked me anything."

"That's so brave. Can't believe that worked. Wilson?

"Yeah?"

"I hope this doesn't seem forward but… I was wondering what you were doing later today? I heard some guys talking about this Rest Stop 15 place", she had actually just heard Richie talking about it to some guy at Lunch and it had appeared to be the place where all the in-crowd of the school went, "And me and my boyfriend wanted to check it out today. It would be like totally awesome if you could be something like our tour guide?"

Although Wilson had been taken aback a little by the mention of her boyfriend but put that thought away fast and was stunned silent at his luck that Veronica wanted to meet him later. He could only rapidly nod his head. She totally had him wrapped around her finger.

"Meet me up there?"

Veronica handed Wilson his phone back and he put it back in pocket.

"Four o'clock. Don't be late," she said and turned around just to see Logan eying her suspiciously. Ignoring it she got into her car.

She was already starting the engine when Logan finally got in too.

They drove for maybe a minute and Veronica was already wondering when Logan would say something when she heard his voice.

"What did you say to him?", he asked with a voice that held some emotion Veronica couldn't quite put somewhere.

"I said that we meet him at this Rest Stop 15 place."

"And what if I may ask are you planning were going to do there?"

"We," she said gesturing between the two of them, "are doing nothing. I get that you enjoyed playing this little act out there but if I may remind you the part of you being my boyfriend wasn't in my plan. So I have every right to reject your unnecessarry help."

"So you want to tell me that you didn't enjoy it at all?", Logan asked with his smirk again that was getting under her skin so easily.

_I can't really tell you what I think of that now, can I? I don't even know what I should think about that. Even if I did enjoy it to some point._

"It was my job. Nothing more. Now, if you don't mind I'm going to let you out at home 'cause I have to talk to Weevil."

At the mention of his name Logans smirk quickly fell and his expression turned into an angrier one.

"What the fuck has he got to do with this?"

"He is going to help me with the case if I can convince him. But he won't help me if he knew that you were involved. I need him to scare the kid so that he tells me where Polly is," Veronica stated while pulling up on Logans driveway.

Before she even stopped properly Logan had already opened the car door and went out.

He looked at her hesitantly, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't know what. So without saying a word he slammed her door and stormed off towards the pool house. He didn't even look back once.

_If somebody should be angry then I'm definitely the one. I was being forced to be Logans girlfriend after all. What the hell is wrong with this guy? Oh yeah. And about that kiss. We'll just skip over the two minutes in heaven we had. You wanna pretend it never happened? No argument here. My lips, for all intents and purposes, are sealed_ .

Now, how about clicking on this nice purple button right under this? It's very easy, believe me.

http://nil-nyx.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Again, this is so unusual for me to write that much in such a short time. A big reason for that is mostly because of all these great reviews I received. I know that it seems that I will be updating this very fast and frequently but that's sadly not true. I just had enough time these last days to write something and I can only write when I have enough time. So be patient if the next part isn't coming tomorrow but I proimise that I will try to update asap.

Anyway I don´t know if I should like this but this is what I got...

A/N2: I'm not a native speaker so I'm truly sorry for any mistakes. I don't have a beta so feel free to correct me. Feedback is much appreciated...(and that would definitely make me want to have time much sooner.

Oh and yeah thanks again for the reviews I've gotten so far, but I've seen that I got many hits and some of you even have an alert on this story and it would really help me if you would just tell me what you thought of this part, which would also help me to write more faster and better. Just a thought...

* * *

The whole case was getting more difficult any minute. Which wouldn't have been so bad if Veronica hadn't been already so confused about what had happened between Logan and her and what it all was about. Her feelings were like one of these really difficult jigsaw where one piece didn't want to fit with another. There suddenly were all this new feelings she had since the day of the 80s dance, maybe even before that but as she wasn't so sure what these feelings really were she also dind't know when they had started.

So the best thing Veronica could imagine to do in this situation was to get herself worked up in the case to distract herself from the messy state her emotions were in.

After she had talked to Weevil about the case and he agreed to help her, she had made a visit at the sheriff station to ask leo if he could get her the Lilly Kane murder tapes. It hadn't been that difficult to persuade him, just some good old Veronica flirting, but she hadn't felt as comfortable with it as before because of this whole Logan-thing. But back to the case. At Rest Stop 15, she had met with Weevil and after he had threatened the little kid a bit, he had admitted that he hadn't stolen Polly and that he didn't knew where to find it. Which had taken her back to stage one. And to put a cherry on top of all of that, Wallace had called her some time in the evening and told her about the blackmailing he had gotten. They threatened to kill Polly if he played at the big game between Pan High and Neptune. So Veronica had no other option but to go to Pan again and play Betty for some more time. And this time she would make sure that Logan didn't get in her way. She couldn't afford anymore distractions.

But even this didn't help her at all. Despite the fact that everybody had asked her where her boyfriend _Jason_ was nothing important at all had occurred. The only thing she could think of now was to ask mac for help and get the video tape, the kidnapper(s) had tried to blackmail Wallace with. She and Mac met at the computer lab and Mac managed to get a hold of a number on the shoe of the kidnapper. Then it all became very clear. She knew who had done it. She was so relieved when she finally got her answer that she didn't pay attention to where she was going after she exited the lab. She kept thinking that she forgot something but didn't have time to figure it out as she bumped into the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

He looked at her with his intensive gaze that even if she wouldn't admit it made her knees weak and stopped her from thinking properly. They stood like that for some amount of time, neither of them daring to break their look, until the whole situation got too awkward eventually.

"So uh, what do you think?" Logan asked hesitantly.

"Like...in general, or is there a specific arena in which you'd like my opinion?"

"How is the case going? I heard they blackmailed your friend Wallace? "

"Good I think. I found out who stole Polly so everything is going to be okay, I think." Veronica couldn't believe that she actually stuttered. She had no idea what she was talking about.

"But is that really what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Hey! You're the one who bumped into me. I mean I know that I am irresistible but if you had wanted to come closer to me all you had to do was ask."

Veronica huffed at that comment. It was just like all the others she had received from Logan so many times but she couldn't hold in the feeling that he had meant it different this time.

"I keep that in mind for the next time." Logan looked at her as incredulously as she felt. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that she was flirting with him. No way!

"So, huh...Who did it?", he tried to change the subject.

"It was one of the basketball players on our team. He's the one that got replaced when Wallace got on the team. He tried to keep him from playing so that he could play."

"He obviously hadn't thought of you being Wallaces best friend in that plan."

"Obviously not."

An awkward silence stretched between the two of them as neither of them knew what to talk about.

"This is ridiculous!", Logan sighed out in frustration.

"I'm sorry?"

"What is this Veronica? I mean between us."

"I honestly don't know", she answered softly.

"I think we should talk."

"If I may remind you, we're already talking. It's this thing you are doing with your mouth, you know?"

"I'm trying to be serious here, but you are making this really hard for me."

Veronica searched his eyes for any trace of something else but could only see the sincerity in them.

"Fine", she relented. "We'll talk, but I think that the school floor isn't the best place to do that."

"Duncan picked me up for school today. Maybe you could give me a ride home?"

"I can do that, but we have to drive over to my apartment first, because I have to give Backup a walk. Dad has already left for a case again so he's alone at home right now."

Veronica already expected some remark from Logan about suggesting something but nothing came. He just started to walk towards the exit and she had to hurry to keep up with him.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Nobody said a word throughout the whole drive. But this time, the silence wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as the other ones before. Veronica actually enjoyed the silence and his company. When she pulled up to her apartment, Logan got out and headed for her door to open it for her. He held out his hand in a very gentlemanly manner and Veronica accepted it. It was then that she remembered what she had forgotten before she met Logan.

Leo. He had promised to bring her the tapes this afternoon and was now standing in front of her door. He hadn't noticed them yet, but Logan surely had noticed him as Veronica felt his grip on her hand strengthen.

"Logan", she whispered while forcing him to look at her with her hands. "Could you stay in the car for a moment. I'm gonna explain it to you later but ...please...just... do once what I ask you for." She looked at him with pleading eyes. She knew that he didn't like that idea at all and was about to tell her that so the only thing she could think of to silence him was to give him a quick kiss on the lips. She got him at surprise, but she didn't pay attention to that and just opened the car door for him to get inside. But like always, Logan upset her plans. He pulled her back to him and before she could realize what happened, she could already feel his soft lips on hers again. It seemed that neither of them expected a kiss from the other every time they kissed. It was becoming somewhat like a habit. But Veronica had to admit that she wasn't as surprised this time as she could have been. Even if she wouldn't admit it, she maybe even had hoped he would do just that. She felt Logan trying to gain access to her mouth and slightly parted her lips for him to enter. Although Logan was very gentle and kind, the kiss was growing hotter and hotter and neither of them knew how far it would have gone if they hadn't been interrupted by the sound of coughing behind them.

Finally parting, they saw Leo standing behind them, a big gift in his hands looking pissed.

"I should have know better. Everybody said that I should watch out for Veronica Mars, but I refused to believe them."

"Leo-", Veronica tried to object but was cut off by him.

"Don't. Talk. To. Me. Ever. Again. Understand? You used me! I thought that there was something going on between us but you obviously just needed me and thought that you could screw with him behind my back." At the word "him" he shot a dirty look at Logan. "I've heard about your reputation at your school and it seems everything they said was true after all. You definitely are a slu-." He didn't even manage to get the last word out as Logan threw himself at him.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" He was about to punch leo but Veronica held back his hand and just the gently touch made him stop.

"Don't." That's all she said to him but it was enough. He backed off and put an arm around her waist. He started to walk towards her home when he turned one last time.

"If you should ever decide to see or talk to her again, I will make sure that you will regret it."

Shortly after they made it through the door, Veronica broke down. All the things that were bothering her came crashing down. She knew that it was pathetic but she couldn't stop it anyway. Her legs were to weak to carry her so Logan had to hold her up. He couldn't stop from thinking about the similarity between this and the time at the Sunset Regent where it had been Veronica who had held him like that.

He made it to the couch with her and sat her down all the while trying to calm her down with soothing words like 'Everything is going to be all right' or 'It's okay' although he knew that they were just some stupid words and wouldn't make anything better. He didn't even knew what was wrong with her.

They stayed like that for several minutes until Veronica was calmed down a little bit. Although she knew that she should probably get out of his embrace she couldn't force herself to. She just felt so...safe. after all that had happened after Lillys death she hadn't felt nearly as safe as she did in this moment with Logan. And she knew that this was just plain wrong and that it didn't make sense at all but it didn't help.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong? You don't have to, you know? But if you want to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks Logan. It's just after what Leo said...I don't know. It just all came crashing down on me I think. I mean he's right. I just used him. I knew that he liked me in some way and took advantage of that."

"May I ask what he has done for you?"

"He stole the Lilly tapes for me. The ones with all the statements from the investigation."

"Are they in that gift?"

"I think so."

"Is that all?", he asked her softly.

"They must be all in there," she said somewhat confused.

"No. That's not what I meant. Is there something else that is bothering you?"

"Well there is this whole thing with my mom being in rehab and everything...",she trailed off.

"And?"

"And ..this."

"This?"

"Yeah, this thing between us."

"You are upset about us?" Logan desperately tried to hide the hurt in his voice but failed miserably as Veronica put her hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her.

"It's just..what is this between us Logan?" she took her hand back from his cheek. It had gotten so hot at the touch of his skin that she felt she must have burnt it. Not to mention the funny feeling she got in her stomach. "I mean not some weeks ago and I would have said that we were arch-enemies and now I'm sitting here with you and we kissed and it felt so good-" she stopped, realizing what she had just said. Veronica knew that she couldn't hope that he hadn't noticed it because the smile on his face was just the proof that he did. She turned her head to look away but he put his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. Then he took her cheek in his hand and stroked it.

"I don't know what this either, but I finally feel like moving on. I know that Lilly had cheated on me with Weevil-"

"So that is why you were so angry when I mentioned Weevil yesterday."

"Well, yeah, of course I was. I had already kind of lost Lilly to him and than you said that you would ask him for help and not me and I felt hurt. But anyway, I never really felt like I got over her and then you helped me with my mom despite everything that happened and I couldn't help but feel something for you."

"Lilly loved you."

"But she also loved guys. No it's okay. I get that now and I think it kind of let's me off the hook. I-I don't know, I don't have to feel guilty anymore."

"Feel guilty about what?"

"About wanting to kiss the best friend of my ex-girlfriend..."

"Logan. I can't. This is all going too fast. I just can't."

"Why not?"

"I...I can't tell you that!"

"Why? What could be so bad that you can't tell me?"

_That somebody raped me and I don't know who it was. For all I know it could have been you._

"Please. Don't make me do this."

"Fine. Whatever. I should better leave now. It's getting late. Bye."

He got up from the couch and out of the door without looking back once.

_It seems this is going to become another one of our odd habits. Logan storming out._

Before he had closed the door, he could have sworn that he heard her say 'I'm sorry Logan' but that was impossible. Veronica Mars never apologized to somebody and definitely not to Logan Echolls.

Continue

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars. Rob does. He's the man.

A/N: I'm so sorry that it took me so long. I had written this part and even some of the next part when I suddenly decided to rewrote this one. I was getting stuck so I had to change this. Anyway, I'm glad that it is now like it's supossed to be. And I'm again sorry if the timeline isn't like on the show.

A/N2: I'm not a native speaker so I'm truly sorry for any mistakes. I don't have a beta so feel free to correct me. Feedback is much appreciated...

Oh yeah, I don't know if I'll be able to write much more soon (school and life, you know?) but comments will surely help. But now, onto the next part...

* * *

Veronica was finally getting along with the Lilly-case again. She had managed to fool Clarence Wiedman into telling her unknowingly what a role Abel Koontz had in the murder and what his motive for admitting to a murder he didn't commit was. Abel Koontz had a daughter named Amelia DeLongpre who was getting the money from the pay-off the Kanes payed her father. Veronica had been able to track her down and hid her in a cheap motel out of town so that Wiedman wouldn't be able to find her.

This part of her life obviously seemed to be getting along.

The other part that included her former exboyfriend and deputy and her former friend then arch-enemy then WTH not so much. She hadn't talked to neither of them since that incident at her apartment and she couldn't say that she minded it in Leos case.

But Logan. She wasn't so sure that she was happy about not having seen him lately. Although she had been pretty busy herself this week, she had somehow thought that she would see him at least once at school but he hadn't been there the whole week since she last saw him. She wouldn't admit it but she missed him. He had been some part in her life for the last few weeks and she had constantly seen him.

It had seemed at first that he was just trying to avoid her but she was getting kind of concerned now. What had happened that he wasn't at school for a whole week? It couldn't have been just because of her, now could it?

She had been so concerned that she had asked Duncan about him. _Bad Veronica! Really bad! Now you have a suspicious Duncan after you. Of course he would have been suspicious after you had already known why Logan had been at the Sunset Regent some weeks ago. And now you ask for him? Now Duncan things who knows what about the two of you._

Duncan now seemed to be following her all the time and if she hadn't known him she could have thought that he was a stalker. But even that hadn't helped her to figure out what was going on. Logan didn't answer her calls and never called her back so she had eventually made the decision that she would drive over to his house.

She was surprised that noone besides Logan seemed to be at home. She had knocked several times at the front door but the maid had obviously the day off so Veronica had no other choice but to walk around the house and see if she could somehow sneak inside. But she didn't need to. She could see the lights on in the pool house because it had been dark outside for some hours now ( She had had to check on Amelia in the afternoon before she could look for him). And she knew that Logan never locked it when he was inside. So she just walked inside and was greeted by a sight she hadn't expected. Well maybe she secretly had but she had hoped that she had misheard Trina at the Sunset Regent.

_

* * *

Isn't he the big bad wolf? Cigarette burns and broken noses. Oh, the stories you used to tell._

* * *

Well, now she was sure that she hadn't misheard her or that Trina had made it up. Logan was sitting in the corner of the room, his face contorted in pain. She could see from his pose that he had injured his back, that _somebody_ had hurt his back.

As she entered the room Logan looked up and flinched visibly. He tried to hide his pain and stand up but was to weak to do so. He nearly fell over and Veronica rushed over to his side to steady him. He tried to brush her off but she had some unimaginable strength in her little body that didn't let him. Of course, if he hadn't been injured he would have easily gotten her of him but not in the state he was at this moment. And the blond definitely had some strength inside of her.

"Veronica. Just leave me alone." The words came out in a rugged voice but she didn't bother.

"Come on. We have to clean your bruises up or they are going to get infected."

Logan was amazed that she didn't ask him what had happened. Everyone he knew would have asked first but not her. She knew. She was Veronica Mars, she had to know. The question was just if this was good or bad.

The surprise he had seen on her face the moment she entered had left it rather quickly and was replaced by a serious and determined expression. And who was he to get into the way of Veronica Mars? So he just tried to make it to the bathroom where she directed him without leaning too much onto the petite blonde beneath him.

They made it there eventually and Veronica sat him onto the edge of the bathtub. She then started to clean his bruises. It was clearly to be seen that the cuts he had on his back hadn't come naturally. It seemed that they were made by something sharp, maybe a belt. As Veronica looked closer she could make out many more white lines on his skin. There must have been a lot of times like this in his life before and it was very hard for Veronica not to break something because of the rage she felt. But then another feeling reached the surface of her mind. Pity. But she knew that Logan didn't need anything like that right now so she tried to shove it away. Which made place for yet another feeling. Revenge. She had to make Aaron pay for what he did to Logan.

"Why do you let him get away with this?" She caught him by surprise as he had tried to blind out every other feeling than the one of Veronicas hands on his skin.

"Huh?"

"Why haven't you told anybody about this?"

"What do you think Veronica? Who would believe me over the famous Aaron Echolls? Not much more time and I can leave anyway."

"But-"

"No!", he said maybe a little too forceful and loud than he intended. "It's better if this stays a secret. You don't know what he is capable of."

Veronica tried to object but the expression on his face stopped her. Resignation was written all over it but it was his pleading eyes that convinced her to let this slip. For now.

Awkward silence stretched out between them until the quite voice of her broke it again.

"I'm sorry."

"What for? Nothing of this is your fault."

"I should have seen it earlier. As I look back now, there were so many times I could have noticed it. So many times when you weren't at school because you somehow had injured yourself while surfing or you had to leave for who-knows what. I should have... I can't believe..."

"It's okay, Ronnie", he tried to calm her down but achieved the exact opposite.

"It's okay?" She nearly yelled. "It's okay? What the hell are you talking about? This is as okay as Don Lamb being the Sheriff! Your father beats you! How can you say that that's okay?"

She would have gone on like this forever if Logan hadn't tried to calm her down by standing up to reach out for her while opening up his bruises again. She calmed down quickly and tried to help him.

"I'm so sorry Logan. It's just... This all seems to be so unfair."

"Life is unfair. For some of us more, for others less. Let's just forget this, okay? Forget this ever happened."

"Logan. You know I can't do that."

"Then just don't tell anybody. Please Veronica. Promise me you won't tell anybody."

"Fine", she huffed. "I promise."

"And now as it seems that I won't be able to do much more today, how about you stay for a while and we watch a movie or something like that? I could let us deliver some food. What do you say?"

"Sure."

After Logan returned, a thought crossed Veronicas mind.

"Logan? When did Aaron beat you?"

"Jeez, Veronica! I thought that I made it clear that I didn't want to talk about this anymore."

"I was just wondering. It couldn't have happened long ago so why weren't you at school this whole week?"

"I had to clear my mind. Get my thoughts straight." He didn't need to tell her that it was because of her and that this was the reason why Aaron had beaten him.

"And you had to skip school for that?"

"Yeah. School is not the most important part in my life like for other people."

"Are you trying to say that I'm a nerd?"

"I never said anything about being a nerd. You just said so yourself."

Veronica punched him on the arm but immediately regretted it as she saw his expression turning from amused to hurt.

"Ouch!"

"I'm sorry! Did he hurt you on the arm too?"

"No, but you surely know how to punch someone Mars. That hurt!"

"That I do. Now come on. Let's watch this movie. Which one is it anyway?"

"The Big Lebowski."

"OOOH! I so love this movie!", Veronica cried out while jumping up and down.

"I remembered."

* * *

It would have been an enjoyable evening for Veronica if her mind hadn't been so occupied with the thoughts of how to help Logan. Sure, she had promised not to tell anybody but that didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to investigate a little bit.

They watched the movie in silence fort most of the time, both of them too wrapped up in their own thoughts that neither of them noticed that they were getting along pretty well despite the things that happened during the last few weeks between them. As disturbingly as it seemed, they both felt very comfortable in each others presence.

"Thanks", Logan said as he accompanied Veronica to her car after the movie ended.

"I was just being a friend." Only seconds after she said this, Veronica regretted it immediately. She saw the hurt in Logans eyes even after he quickly covered it.

"Friends, huh?"

"Logan...", she tried but trailed off. She didn't know what else she could say so she didn't say anything at all.

Logan looked at her expectantly for some moments but nothing came.

"Whatever, Veronica." He hesitated for some seconds then bent down and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "See you at school tomorrow." He turned around and went away leaving a confused Veronica behind. He had hoped that she would call him back and tell him that she felt the same as him and then they could have these mind-blowing kisses again, but nothing happened. He was nearly at the door again when he finally heard her voice.

"Logan! Wait." Did his hopes come true or was this just one of his dreams of her again where they ended in a very hot situation, and he would wake up any time in his bed, little Logan mockingly greeting him? He turned and saw Veronica running towards him.

"Yeah?" This couldn't be happening. He would wake up any second and see that the whole evening was just a dream and that he passed out after The beating from Aaron.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in listening to the tapes I got from Leo? I wanted to start with it the next weekend. Maybe you'd like to come over and we listen to them together? I mean if I remember correctly you wanted to be involved in the case."

"Uh, sure." Shit! He knew that his fantasy was totally unrealistic but a boy could still hope. At least it wasn't a dream and he would be spending more time with her. If he put it like that, it was nearly like some kind of a date. Maybe then...

"Great! Well, I see you then."

"Yeah, bye."

As he looked at Veronicas retreating form he thought that he had never hated Mondays as much as in this moment.

* * *

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